To pass through AVR...

[9er]

...or not.
Hello all...newb here with a question I hope someone could explain.

Quick and to the point.

Should I route my cable/sat box through my Denon 3805 the to the TV, or go straight from box to tv? (component)
Also...same question with DVD player.

I have heard the less connections the better, but I wonder if the 3805 would improve things. (before someone say's "try it and see", just want them to know it's not an easy task to move everything)

Thanks in advance!
Brad

 

[markw]

Ask yourself this question.

Does the cable box do the tuning for the Denon or the TV?

As for the DVD, that depends on wether you want to use the TV or the receiver as the video switching device.

hint... the fewer things a signal passes through, the better it is.

 

[9er]

Mark,
Right now I have my cable box connected via component straight to the tv. And my audio source is coaxial.

I have heard that less is better as well...but didn't know if I would gain any benifit routing through the Denon THEN to the tv.

(less is better...can't wait to show this to the wife!)

 

[MDS]

Routing everything through the receiver allows you to use the receiver to switch all sources and since you would then only have one connection to the TV (3 component cables) you never have to change the input on the TV.

Using the receiver as a video switcher won't improve the picture nor will it degrade the picture.

 

[BMXTRIX]

In my experience, you will never notice a loss in image quality by going through a quality A/V receiver like the Denon you already own. While it is true there may be a bit of signal loss, it is so incredibly small, that you simply will not visibly see that loss.

What you lose is negligible considering you gain on screen menus as well as single point switching. As well, since the 3805 transcodes all incoming signals (game systems/vcr/etc.) to component video, you can truly leave your TV on the one component video input and let the receiver do every little bit of switching that you want it to do quite easily.

I always recommend going through the receiver when possible to simplify the setup.

 

[Bryce_H]

I have the 3805 and have:

Cable box
DVD
N64
PS2

all going through the denon. I have tried them direct to my projector (Epson 550 on 106" Dalite screen) and have not noticed ANY degradation of picture. The exception will be when I get HDTV, then I will run an HDMI directly to the projector, because the 3805 can't take HDMI, not becasue of fear of picture degradation.

 

[Mort Corey]

I routed my HD cable box directly to the display as I found the DVI connection gave a slightly better picture than component.....and my 3805 (like yours) doesn't have that connection ability. My display also has internal speakers which, for watching mudane TV programming, works better for me not having to fire up all the other gear (even in HD with 5.1 surround, the news is still just that).

Mort

 

[Nick250]

I'm with Mort, for regular TV I just use the TV speakers which are fine most stuff. My connections are:

DVI from cable box to TV
Generic audio cables from the cable box to TV(for TV Audio)
Optical from cable box to Receiver for Digital TV Audio.
Optical from DVD Player to Receiver.
Component from DVD Player to TV.
Harmony Remote for one button push to do any task or switching I want.

Nick